The human displacement crisis in the U.S. has never been more severe. Heading into 2025, the Pallet team is more driven than ever to create positive, lasting change.
As we plan for the year ahead, the Pallet team is motivated to continue our mission to provide shelter for displaced populations. And with recent data showing escalating numbers of people impacted by this crisis, we’re aware that the need for safe, stable spaces is more critical now than ever.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 2024 Point-in-Time Count reported that 770,000 people across the U.S. experienced homelessness on a single night in January. Not only does this represent a troubling 18% rise in homelessness from the previous year’s statistics, but we know that the difficulties associated with collecting this data means this number is likely much higher in reality.
In addition to the historic numbers of people experiencing domestic homelessness, a swath of devastating climate-related events also contributed to an immense rise of people displaced by natural disasters across the country. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from 1980 up to 2024, the average number of disasters per year causing $1 billion of damage or more was nine; 27 such events occurred last year. Hurricane Helene, which struck Florida’s Big Bend region back in September, caused $79.6 billion in damage and 219 recorded deaths alone.
Until every person has a place to call home, we will continue our fight in addressing the human displacement crisis. This scope of work is broad, but there are several specific strategies Pallet is implementing in 2025 on federal, state, and local levels.
Shifts in the Federal Administration
As President Trump takes office for a second term, changes in leadership and priorities for the country follow closely behind. Newly appointed officials and leaders will affect national strategies to address homelessness as well as disaster preparedness and response.
This means the Pallet Government Affairs team will be visiting DC in the next several weeks to meet with elected officials and their staff, ready to share Pallet’s vision, product offerings, and plans to effectively integrate our model into federal strategies.
We are looking forward to the official confirmations of the new heads of HUD and FEMA, which will allow us to align Pallet with the new direction of these crucial departments at the core of our work. Collaborating with these policymakers is key in establishing an environment that fosters positive change in people’s lives rather than implementing punitive, inequitable measures that do nothing but exacerbate this crisis.
Addressing Displacement in States and Counties
While the new federal administration will be influential in creating national policies, each U.S. state faces its unique challenges in providing appropriate shelter and housing for their displaced residents.
In our experience creating shelter sites across the country, we have learned that solving these issues requires tailored strategies that not only include shelter provision but also supportive services and many other considerations that meet the specific needs of impacted populations.
We utilized this expertise and insight to create a Five-Year Strategic Plan to End Homelessness for Savannah and Chatham County Interagency Council on Homelessness. The plan, formulated through meetings with key stakeholders and collecting relevant data, includes a comprehensive strategy to reach functional zero homelessness for the broader Savannah community. We will use this approach as a framework for designing effective, actionable, and thorough solutions to state and countywide displacement going forward.
On the front of climate-related events, this year we are placing a focus on demonstrating how non-congregate emergency shelter can play a pivotal role in strengthening resilience for disaster-prone states. We have already proven Pallet’s efficacy in responding to emergencies after building a shelter site for Floridians impacted by Hurricane Helene just days after the storm had passed. In the coming year, we are eager to expand this capacity for communities at risk of experiencing events like hurricanes, fires, and flooding—and increase access to rapidly deployable shelter when they need it most.
Making an Impact in Our Community
Pallet would be nothing without our people. Everything starts at our HQ in Washington State: before we can help displaced populations across the country, we are committed to providing stability and growth opportunities for our team members.
We created our Purpose-Led Workforce Model to advance this mission. A pivotal part of this model is Pallet’s Career Launch PAD (Program for Apprenticeship Development), which entails working on the manufacturing floor at HQ while participating in a paid pre-apprenticeship program focused on developing critical skills needed for a career in the trades.
We are looking forward to celebrating the graduation of our Career Launch PAD’s first cohort in 2025. After our team members complete the program, they will have the chance to pursue a rewarding career in the trades and become the skilled workforce of the future, creating more available space at Pallet for our next class in the process.
The displacement crisis in the U.S. has never been more dire. Through targeted efforts to address it on federal, state, and local levels, Pallet is driven to be part of the solution. Together, we have the chance to create lasting change in the coming year and ensure no one goes unsheltered.
It’s crucial that Pallet shelters can withstand various weather conditions—so no matter where in the world our shelters are located, they can handle the elements. To ensure our products can provide proper shelter in extreme temperatures, Pallet’s engineering team consistently does performance testing.
Here’s a look at how the Shelter 64 and Shelter 100 are designed and tested.
Exterior
Keeping village residents comfortable begins with the exterior. Pallet shelters are composed of seven prefabricated panels that can be assembled in under an hour on-site by our deployment team. These panels are white and opaque with a glossy finish, which reflects the sunlight. Thanks to the reflective nature of the panels that make up the shelters’ exterior, they require less electricity to maintain comfortable interior temperatures.
Insulation
Proper insulation is vital in both cold weather and hot temperatures. The exterior panels have a foam insulating core made of expanded polystyrene (EPS). For frigid climates, we offer thicker wall and roof insulation, a 4500-watt heater, and insulation under the floor panel as part of a cold-weather package. In warm climates, air conditioning units can be installed to help keep the shelters cool.
Testing
Our engineering team tests shelter effectiveness in summer and winter temperatures to ensure our design keeps residents at a comfortable temperature.
For cold-weather testing, members of the engineering team brought the shelters to a food storage facility. It had a massive cold chamber that maintained a consistent temperature of -16°F. A consistent temperature is an essential component for proper testing. The team used an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of various surfaces and used thermocouples (sensors that measure temperature) attached to a laptop to record internal and external temperatures throughout the duration of the test.
After gathering the cold chamber test findings, the team performed a reverse test with smoke. This test enabled them to identify the exact locations where even the smallest gap could allow warm interior air to escape the shelter.
Additional design improvements included adding foam seals and insulating the floor for cold-weather climates. With better efficiency comes less energy consumption. Because of the design improvements, a comfortable 70°F can be maintained inside Pallet shelters even when outside temperatures drop to as low as -20°F.
Wind and Snow
Tests for windy and snowy conditions show the shelters can withstand 110 mph wind and a 25 lb./sq. ft. snow load for standard units. Depending on the location, the Pallet team can make adjustments to increase the snow load to 50 lb./sq. ft. and wind to 170 mph. A safety feature that comes with every shelter is hold-down rods at the corners of the unit. These allow the shelter to be secured to the ground.
Always Evolving
We are committed to evolving our products in both big and small ways. Last year, we launched two new categories: Hygiene and Community for a complete village model. We also introduced a small but important addition to our line: a folding desk and table.
At Pallet, we continue to test for efficiency so we can grow and improve our product line.